Inside this issue:

Fire & EMS Run Review 1

Fire Department Operations 2

EMS Bureau Report 3

Fire Prev./ Public Safety 4

Maintenance Bureau 6

Training Bureau 7

In Their Own Words 8

Planning to Protect... ...Acting to Save

February 2018 Volume 6, Issue 02

WEST BEND FIRE DEPARTMENT

…..Acting to Save

Move Over or Slow Down. It’s the Law in WI!

Continued on Page 2

Department Has Near Miss on Highway

Emergency work in

traffic is dangerous.

Emergency crews are

often concentrating on

the work they are do-

ing and not always

able to see oncoming

vehicles. This is why

emergency workers

take precautions to

avoid being hit by ve-

hicles. Motorists are

also required to slow

down for emergency

vehicles with activated

warning lights.

On February 12, 2018

one of our firefighter/

paramedics was nearly

struck by a completely

preventable motor ve-

hicle crash on U.S.

Highway 45.

A distracted driver en-

tered the highway and

went around the closed

southbound lane being

blocked by emergency

vehicles. She merged

into the moving traffic

lane where she ran into

the rear of a vehicle

that had slowed for the

incident. The collision

caused the vehicle to

YEARS of SERVICE ~ FEBRUARY

Chief G. Kudek..….02/01/85

FF D. Keon...…….02/05/01

FF J. McCoy…..…02/18/02

FF F. Samuel…….02/18/02

FF J. Kolberg…….02/17/14

Emergency Activities

Types of Calls February

2018 February

2017 Year to Date

(2018) Year to Date

(2017) Fires Calls 27 34 68 53 Emergency Medical Calls 248 216 538 484 Paramedic Intercepts 5 11 13 27 Interfacility Transports 38 36 77 77 Community Paramedics 8 0 12 0

Totals 326 297 708 641

Town of Barton Calls 8 11 15 22 Town of West Bend Calls 6 11 21 22

Page 6 Fire Department Operations Battalion Chief John Spartz

“Move Over and Slow Down for Emergency Flashing Lights” Continued from Page 1

be thrown into the medi-

an. The striking vehicle

then slid past the ambu-

lance that was parked on

the right shoulder of the

road. Narrowly missing

the driver who had exit-

ed the ambulance and

was obtaining his helmet

from a storage cabinet.

The vehicle missed the

firefighter/paramedic by

less than five feet. A wit-

ness’ vehicle that was

parked in front of the

medical unit was then

struck and both vehicles

wound up in the ditch.

The event lasted less

than 10 seconds and was

captured on a dash

mounted camera from a

WI State Patrol squad

car.

Precautions were being

taken by emergency

workers as the incident

occurred to protect the

scene so the emergency

crews could complete

their work. WBFD uses

the State’s Traffic Inci-

dent Management

(TIME) Program as a

guideline to protect

crews as they are work-

ing on the streets and

highways. However, it is

dangerous work even

when emergency precau-

tions are in place. A Del-

ton firefighter was seri-

ously injured while

working on Interstate 90

near the WIU Dells two

weeks before our inci-

dent. This iincident oc-

curred with all precau-

tions in place.

So why do accidents like

this occur? Often motor-

ists are distracted or

driving too fast. WI law

requires motorists to

move over for emergency

or maintenance vehicles

with emergency lights

flashing. The Wisconsin

DOT has created an

awareness campaign

called “Move Over”. For

more information you

can search for the Move

Over Campaign on the

WI Department of

Transportation’s website

at

www.wisconsindot.gov. Vehicles after the crash and emergency crews on scene.

A still from the WI State Patrol squad camera showing how

close the vehicle came to hitting a West Bend FF.

DID YOU KNOW…

In Wisconsin, in 2016, one person was injured or killed in an inattentive related crash every 46 minutes.

25,596 inattentive-related crashes occurred in Wisconsin in 2016, a significant increase from the 2015 fig-

ure.

In these crashes, 120 people were killed and 11,311 people were injured.

Inattentive driving was a contributing factor in alsmost 20% of all 2015 crashes in Wisconsin.

More inattentive crashes occur on Fridays. However, the number of crashes was fairly steady throughout

the week with the exception of Sunday.

Page 3

The West Bend Fire

Department has done a

tremendous job in EMS

over recent years. One are

that we are proud of is the

speed and accuracy our

paramedics have in

diagnosing a STEMI,

which is a heart attack, and

getting that patient to the

most appropriate

destination that can take

care of the problem.

We have worked hard to

develop a plan to identify if

someone is having a heart

attack. Our goal is for

every patient that

complains of chest pain is

to have a 12 lead done in 10

minutes. A 12 lead is an

electrical picture of the

heart and is used to

diagnose heart attacks. We

can send that 12 lead to the

ER doctor at St Joseph’s

and have them help

interrupt if there is a heart

attack. With the help of

that ER Dr we then decide

on which place to

transport. For patients

that have an Aurora

Doctor we will take you to

Grafton. And, if you have

a Froedtert Doctor we will

take you to Froedtert in

Wauwatosa.

The main difference is we

will start to treat the heart

attack with different

medications to help slow

down the damage, but we

activate the cath lab. The

cath lab is the operating

room where the cardiologist

will open the blocked

artery. When that is

activated, that means that

the cardiologist and their

staff are waiting for the

patient. We bypass the

emergency department go

directly to the cath lab.

The national goal is to be

at the cath lab in under 90

minutes from first medical

contact. The national

average is close to 80

minutes. We routinely

identify and transport to a

cath lab in under 60

minutes. That is with a 30

to 40 minute transport

time. Our paramedics do a

great job.

Froedtert and the

American Heart

Association recognize the

efforts of our paramedics

and asked us to present our

process and some case

studies at their

Cardiovascular

Emergencies

Conference last month in

the WI Dells.

Allyson Kelleher the Chest

Pain Coordinator from

Froedtert, Captain Kenny

Asselin and Battalion Chief

Tom Thrash all worked

together to present the

process for bypassing an

ER and going to a cath lab.

They also presented several

case studies to the group to

show the times and positive

results.

Emergency Medical Services Bureau Battalion Chief Tom Thrash

AHA Case Study Presentation

Page 4

Fire Prevention & Public Safety Bureau Fire Safety Education, Code Enforcement and Fire Investigation

Deputy Chief Chuck Beistle and Captain Kenny Asselin

The National Fire Pro-

tection Association

(NFPA) is an organiza-

tion that creates and

maintains model codes

for adoption by federal,

state, and local govern-

ment agencies. In the

State of Wisconsin, the

Department of Safety

and Professional Ser-

vices adopts NFPA 1 as

the model fire code. The

code has rules to allevi-

ate the potential for situ-

ations that are statistical-

ly proven to start fires.

Those fires injure and

kill people, destroy

property and structures,

and reduce productivity

in the economy.

The West Bend Fire De-

partment has shift fire-

fighter/paramedics that

are also certified as fire

inspectors. These per-

sonnel are dedicated to

the prevention of fires in

properties in the City of

West Bend and sur-

rounding areas. The

codes guide our shift fire

inspectors to assist busi-

ness and property own-

ers to help reduce the

risks of productivity

losses from events that

are statistically proven

to be preventable.

Fire extinguishers are

an important component

of a fire protection sys-

tem. The proper training

and use of a fire extin-

guisher could be the dif-

ference between the ex-

tinguishment of a small

fire with some smoke

damage and dry chemi-

cal powder on the floor

and the loss of entire

building including any

furnishings and irre-

placeable valuables. Ac-

cording to the fire code:

Fire extinguishers

shall be subjected to

maintenance at inter-

vals of not more than

1 year

Fire extinguishers

shall be inspected at

a minimum of 30

day intervals and

recorded on the tag.

Emergency and exit

lights are another com-

ponent of the fire safety

codes that have monthly

and annual testing com-

ponents. Exit and emer-

gency lights are re-

quired to have backup

power in the event of a

power outage. Most

often this is in the form

of a battery that is stored

inside of the emergency

or exit light. According

to the fire codes:

Emergency and exit

lights are subject to a

monthly functional

test of 30 seconds.

Emergency and exit

lights are subject to

an annual functional

test of 90 minutes.

Written records of

visual inspections

and test shall be kept

by the owner for in-

spection by the AHJ.

Fire sprinkler systems

are the best active fire

protection components

to help reduce the losses

from fires. Sprinkler

system requirements

(continued on page 5)

Fire Protection Code Checklist

According to the fire code, fire extinguishers are to be checked annually by a

certified fire extinguisher company. The extinguishers are also to be checked

monthly by the building owner or their designee, and the rear of the tag

marked with the date and the initials of the person performing the checks.

Page 5

Fire Prevention & Public Safety Bureau Fire Safety Education, Code Enforcement and Fire Investigation

by Deputy Chief Chuck Beistle and Captain Kenny Asselin

(from page 4)

include the following:

Quarterly tests

Annual inspections

Annual service of

the fire pumps

5 year internal in-

spections

5 year calibrations or

replacement of the

gauges

Fire alarm systems are

an extremely important

component of an active

fire suppression system.

Notification of building

occupants through the

use of audible and visual

signaling devices is one

of the best methods to

ensure safety from the

dangers of fire. Fire

alarm systems also have

maintenance require-

ments that help reduce

overall losses. These

include:

Annual tests of the

controls, panels,

power supplies, and

annunciators

Annual tests of noti-

fication appliances

Annual tests of initi-

ating appliances

Semi-annual battery

load testing

Semi-annual testing

of supervisory appli-

ances

Annual smoke detec-

tor sensitivity testing

Kitchen suppression

and exhaust systems

prone to fires due to the

nature of cooking oils.

Grease buildup in the

exhaust hoods is the

cause of numerous res-

taurant fires each year.

NFPA 96 has a schedule

for the inspection of the

exhaust hoods depend-

ing upon the frequency

and type of cooking:

Monthly for solid

fuel systems

Quarterly for high

volume and 24 hour

cooking

Semi-annually for

moderate volume

cooking

Annually for low

volume cooking

The suppression system

should also be checked

twice each year. The

suppression system shall

be checked to ensure the

caps are in place, the

fusible links are re-

placed, and the signaling

devices are in working

order.

Maintenance schedules

area very important part

of active and passive fire

suppression systems.

There are many proven

examples of devastating

fires that could have

been prevented or sup-

pressed by preventative

maintenance on those

systems. Statistical

analysis shows that fire

reduces productivity in

the workplace and also

robs valuable resources

from other potential

work and home projects

that could have been

avoided by simply being

aware of and keeping up

on maintenance sched-

ules.

We would like to thank

Jesse Honeyager of

Cintas Corporation for

the training he conduct-

ed for the Area 6 chapter

of the Wisconsin State

Fire Inspectors Associa-

tion. We would also like

to thank him for the use

of the pictures in this

article.

The view of the inside of a blocked sprinkler pipe.

Sprinkler systems are proven to be less effective

due to reduced water flow if they are not main-

tained. According to the Fire Protection Hand-

book Volume 2 (2003), Sprinkler systems have a

statistical reliability of 0.904 if receiving quarterly

inspections, but only 0.826 if semi-annual inspec-

tion and tests are performed, 0.682 for annual in-

spections, and only 0.464 reliability if only tested

and inspected every other year.

Page 6

Firefighters and Cancer

Maintenance Bureau Battalion Chief Jeff Gustafson

Cancer deaths among members of the fire ser-vice have risen dramati-cally over the last 20 years, in tandem with the increasing toxicity of modern fires, due to the proliferation of synthetic products and plastics, and other toxic chemicals that release carcinogenic by-products when burned. Below is a study of Can-cer among US Firefighters Rate of cancers in fire-fighters compared to the general public ■ Testicular cancer (2.02 times greater risk) ■ Multiple myeloma (1.53 times greater risk) ■ Non-Hodgkin’s lym-phoma (1.51 times greater risk) ■ Skin cancer (1.39 times greater risk) ■ Prostate cancer (1.28 times greater risk) ■ Malignant melanoma (1.31 times great risk) ■ Brain cancer (1.31 times greater risk) ■ Colon cancer (1.21 times great risk) ■ Leukemia (1.14 times greater risk)

With Cancer reduction efforts always a priority the West Bend Fire De-partment has developed a DECONTAMINATION procedure for after we have been in or near a fire. Below is our 6 step procedure:

STEP 1 Gross Decon (On Scene) Rinse all gear with hose and RINSE

CLEAN cleaner

STEP 2 Complete Skin Wipe Down (On Scene) Take gear off and Wipe

Down with FIRE WIPES (Head, neck, face, arm pits, and groin areas).

STEP 3 Detailed Apparatus and Equipment Decon (at Station) Use

SIMPLE GREEN to wipe down interior of Fire Truck

STEP 4 Wash Gear in Extractor (at Station)

STEP 5 Cool Water Shower with in 2 to 3 Hours after returning to Sta-

tion (at Station)

STEP 6 Create a good hard sweat—20-30 minutes of light biking in the

CRB (Carcinogen Reduction Booth or Sauna) with in 24 hours of the

event

Fire Instruction & Training Bureau Deputy Chief Chuck Beistle & Captain Bob Monday

Page 7

Project A.D.A.M. The West Bend Fire Department recently

assisted the West Bend School District in

becoming Heart Safe Schools.

Project ADAM is a national, non-profit

organization committed to saving lives

through advocacy, education, preparedness

and collaboration to prevent sudden cardi-

ac death. Focused prevention training and

education ensures schools and communities

are not only equipped, but trained in pre-

vention of sudden cardiac death.

Project ADAM began in 1999 after the

death of Adam Lemel, a 17-year-old

Whitefish Bay, WI, high school student

who collapsed and died while playing bas-

ketball. Adam suffered a Sudden Cardiac

Arrest (SCA), in which ventricular fibrilla-

tion occurred, a condition in which the

ventricles cannot pump blood into the

body. Defibrillation, or an AED, could

have saved his life.

The long training hours paid off this week

when Jackson, Decorah, and Fair Park Ele-

mentary Schools and West and East High

Schools earned accreditation as Project AD-

AM Heart Safe Schools.

To earn this accreditation, each school suc-

cessfully completed a surprise emergency re-

sponse drill on Tuesday. They now have sus-

tainable and comprehensive CPR and AED

(auto external defibrillator) response plans at

each school.

Below is a link to a YouTube video taken by

the school district from that day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=6sGV80LTMSk&feature=youtu.be

325 N 8th Ave.

West Bend, WI 53095

262.335.5054

www.ci.west-bend.wi.us

In Their Own Words…...

WEST BEND FIRE DEPARTMENT

Planning to Protect… ...Acting to Save

The back page of our newsletter features a note or card that we have re- ceived from

our customers….the people we serve. Whether it is during an ambulance

call, fire call, or a public education assignment, the members

of the West Bend Fire Department are al- ways

dedicated to making their contact with

area residents a posi- tive

experience.

Personnel Spotlight: Firefighter Steven Rusch Steven Rusch is one

of our Paid On Call

(POC) members.

Steve has 22 years

on the department.

Joining the depart-

ment in 1995.

Over the years Steve

has seen many

changes in the de-

partment and the fire

service as a whole .

The biggest changes

Steve has seen over

the years are the ad-

vancements in

equipment along

with the increased

awareness of fire-

fighter safety on the

fire ground.

When not at the fire

department Steve is

employed at a finan-

cial services institu-

tion, specializing in

monitoring computer

systems. In his off

time Steve enjoys

spending time travel-

ing with his wife

Kati and three

daughters Elisabeth,

Emily, and Margret.

They enjoy visiting

State and National

Parks.